![\"<p><strong>PH-SOUTH](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/img5704.jpeg\")
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PH-SOUTH KOREA TIES. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. (left) and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in Gyeongju, South Korea on Friday (Oct. 31, 2025). Both leaders vowed to deepen PH-South Korea strategic partnership, which was formalized last year. (Photo courtesy of Presidential Photojournalists Association)<\/p>\n
BUSAN, South Korea \u2013 President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung have reaffirmed their countries\u2019 deep strategic partnership, agreeing to expand cooperation in defense, infrastructure, and transnational crime prevention.<\/p>\n
Marcos and Lee held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the APEC Economic Leaders\u2019 Meeting in Gyeongju on Friday.<\/p>\n
The two leaders reviewed the progress of the Korea-Philippines Strategic Partnership, which celebrated its first anniversary this year, and committed to elevate it to \u201ca new level of cooperation and mutual support.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lee said it was \u201cparticularly meaningful\u201d to welcome Marcos to Korea following their first phone conversation in August and shortly after the anniversary of the strategic partnership.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Republic of Korea and the Philippines are very special friends,\u201d Lee said, recalling the Philippines\u2019 role in aiding Korea during the Korean War.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have maintained a very close relationship of cooperation and support, and we have mutually helped each other over the years. I hope that through your visit, we will be able to take that to another level.\u201d<\/p>\n
In response, Marcos congratulated Lee on the successful hosting of the APEC Summit and expressed \u201cdeep gratitude for the deep ties that bind our two peoples — from fighting side by side during the war, to providing assistance in times of calamities and protecting the rights and welfare of our nationals.\u201d<\/p>\n
The two sides agreed to further strengthen cooperation in the defense industry, shipbuilding and infrastructure development, alongside efforts to facilitate smoother operations of Korean companies in the Philippines, according to a news release by the South Korean government.<\/p>\n
The meeting also reaffirmed the significance of the Korea-Philippines Free Trade Agreement (FTA) — which will mark its first anniversary later this year — in boosting economic exchanges and investments.<\/p>\n
Marcos and Lee also addressed law enforcement and security cooperation, with the South Korean leader thanking the Philippine government for supporting the establishment of a Korean Help Desk within the Philippine National Police to assist Korean nationals.<\/p>\n
Both leaders vowed to step up joint action against transnational crimes, including online scam operations targeting citizens of both countries.<\/p>\n
Lee, who has called for regional cooperation among ASEAN police agencies and the Korean National Police, emphasized the need for \u201ccoordinated efforts to root out organized and cyber-enabled crimes across borders.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the Philippines prepares to assume the ASEAN Chairship in 2026, Marcos said Manila would actively support efforts to promote peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula.<\/p>\n
\u201cNext year, the Philippines will chair the ASEAN summits, and I see a real opportunity for us to promote a rules-based order and a more secure, prosperous region,\u201d Marcos said.<\/p>\n
Lee, meanwhile, reaffirmed his commitment to \u201cusher in a new era of peaceful coexistence and shared prosperity on the Korean Peninsula\u201d and welcomed the Philippines\u2019 cooperation toward that goal.<\/p>\n
The meeting marks the first in-person engagement between Marcos and Lee, underscoring a renewed effort to fortify bilateral ties amid shared priorities in regional security, digital transformation, and economic resilience. (PNA)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PH-SOUTH KOREA TIES. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. (left) and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung hold a bilateral…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":109273,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[114,184,85,46],"class_list":["post-109272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-business","tag-economy","tag-il","tag-israel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109272","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109272"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109272\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/109273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}